WedKnott Secures Strategic Investment to Fuel Expansion Into Dubai and London

Posted on January 8, 2026
A couple in traditional Indian attire sitting together, surrounded by flower petals falling from above, with a vibrant orange and yellow floral backdrop.

NEWS24ONLINE – WedKnott, a premium matchmaking platform for Ivy League alumni and high-achieving professionals, has secured strategic investment from blockchain entrepreneur Sir Pratik Gauri, founder of $1.5B blockchain company 5ire. The funding supports WedKnott’s international expansion into Dubai and London, targeting wealthy Indian diaspora. Founded in 2018 by Abhinav Gandhi and Misha Malik, WedKnott operates from Noida and Mumbai. It has built a network of 250K members, and offers tiered memberships with psychology-based matchmaking. 

See full article at News24online

Marriage Pact Accuses Date Drop of Copying Matchmaking Features

Posted on January 6, 2026
Date Drop

STANFORD DAILY – Marriage Pact has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Date Drop, alleging that Date Drop copied elements of its website design, marketing language, and ~25% of its matching questionnaire. Marriage Pact claims Date Drop’s founder reviewed years of its emails before launching the product, while Date Drop denies wrongdoing, says the features are common in matchmaking tools, and has made voluntary changes while retaining legal counsel. Legal experts say copying a business model or standard questionnaire content is unlikely to be illegal, and the dispute may either proceed to court or be resolved through compromise, with Date Drop continuing operations for now.

See full article at Stanford Daily

Mark Brooks: 17 Things I’d Love to See You Do

Posted on January 6, 2026

LTR – In this presentation, Mark Brooks presents ’17 Things I’d Love to See You Do’ for leaders in the dating and social industry, focusing on strategy, marketing, and business development. Covering topics like forming masterminds, optimizing user outcomes, hosting impactful events, and engaging with influencers, Mark shares actionable insights to enhance products, teams, and market positioning. This session emphasizes the importance of innovation, strategic partnerships, media engagement, and advocacy in navigating today’s competitive market.

[**See the video here on YouTube**]

The November LTR was kindly sponsored by Courtland Brooks

Dating App Companies Are Shifting Focus to Asia

Posted on January 5, 2026
dating apps

FIRST POST – Dating apps are pivoting to Asia as user growth declines in Western markets. In the first half of 2025, Tinder’s active users fell 10% to 51M, while Bumble declined 5% to 20.8M. Asia has become the main growth region, with India leading global downloads in 2025 at 205M, followed by China and Indonesia. Despite strong download growth, revenue remains concentrated in mature markets, with Japan the only Asian country in the top five by revenue, generating $2.3B in the first 11 months of 2025. India, where arranged marriages are declining, is one of the fastest-growing markets, prompting Match Group to launch its invitation-only app The League in Mumbai and Delhi, as dating platforms adapt to more marriage-oriented and culturally specific user behaviour across Asia.

See full article at First Post

Testing AI Matchmakers: More Structure, Same Dating Fatigue

Posted on January 5, 2026
AI matchmaking

BUSINESS INSIDER – Two journalists tested four AI matchmaking services – Amata, Facebook Dating, Sitch, and Three Day Rule – to assess whether chatbot-led matching improved dating outcomes. After weeks of interacting with AI matchmakers, reviewing suggested profiles, and going on several dates, the conclusion was that AI added structure and convenience, such as slower matching, automated profiles, and date planning, but did not eliminate dating fatigue or materially improve results. Some dates occurred, mainly through Amata and Sitch, but overall the experience felt like a modified version of traditional dating apps rather than a fundamental change.

See full article at Business Insider

Early January Marks the Busiest Period for Dating Apps, Tinder Data Shows

Posted on January 5, 2026
Early January Marks the Busiest Period for Dating Apps, Tinder Data Shows

CHOZUN BIZ – Tinder released data on Jan. 2 showing that early January is consistently the busiest period for dating apps, based on user activity from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14 last year. On “Dating Sunday” (Jan. 5), swipes increased ~13% above the annual average, messages and likes rose by ~10%, and matches reached 380 per second, ~10% higher than normal, while response times sped up by over two hours. Across the full peak season, daily messages averaged 10M more than usual and likes increased by 40M, reflecting heightened demand for new relationships at the start of the year.

See full article at Chosun Biz

SugarDaddyMeet Takes a Stand Against AI-Generated Photos

Posted on January 2, 2026
Logo of SugarDaddyMeet with the text 'SUGAR DADDY MEET' and 'SINCE 2007' on a black background.

PRESS RELEASE – SugarDaddyMeet has introduced stricter controls to limit the use of AI-generated photos and protect trust on its platform. The company requires photo verification before members can message or use voice and video features, reviews reported images manually, and applies additional verification options for higher-income members. The aim is to reduce misrepresentation, ensure profiles reflect real people, and maintain reliable interactions as AI-altered images become more common in online dating.

See full article at 24-7PressRelease

Soon New Yorkers Will Be Able to Take Their Chatbot Partners on a in-Person Date

Posted on January 2, 2026
A smartphone displaying a virtual companion sits on a table in a dimly lit restaurant, surrounded by elegant dining settings including wine glasses and a candle.

NYPOST – London-based Eva AI is launching a pop-up café in Manhattan in February where visitors can take their AI chatbot partners on in-person “dates,” using phone stands at tables to interact with them. The company says interest in AI companionship is growing, citing data showing 23% of millennials and 33% of Gen Z have used AI as a romantic companion. 

See full article at NYPost

INNI: A New Dating App Built on Personality-Based Compatibility

Posted on January 1, 2026
Inni

OPW – INNI is a new dating app launched by a psychology-focused startup called Dimensional, founded by Saeid Fard, an entrepreneur who previously built tools centered on personality and self-understanding. INNI applies personality science to dating by predicting and explaining compatibility between users, using structured psychological inputs instead of relying mainly on self-written bios or surface-level signals, with the goal of helping users make clearer, more informed matching decisions.